Department for Transport

Skipton-Colne Railway Line

lord greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the announcement by the Secretary of State for Transport on 25 January,whether they have commissioned the further studies into the possible reinstatement and reopening of the Colne–Skipton railway line as part of a TransPennine freight line and for local passenger services; and if so, who is undertakingthose studies.

baroness vere of norbiton: Work is currently progressing and we expect to receive the results later this year to inform a decision as to whether the scheme should go to the ‘develop’ stage of the Government’s Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline.Local stakeholders, including the local MP Andrew Stephenson, have championed the scheme and we are working closely with Transport for the North to assess the proposed scheme and to ensure that it can be affordable, will attract sufficient traffic, and is part of the right long-term solution for cross Transpennine rail traffic.This is part of our new approach to rail enhancements to ensure we address the needs of passengers and freight, and that funding commitments appropriately reflect the stage of development of schemes.

Heathrow Airport: Biometrics

lord evans of weardale: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the efficacy of the facial recognition technology proposed for use at Heathrow airport; who has the regulatory responsibility for ensuring that technology is effective and meets security requirements; whether such technology is assessed against a set of published standards; and if so, who decides those standards.

baroness vere of norbiton: The Government does not require London Heathrow Airport to use facial recognition technology for security checks. London Heathrow Airport has taken a commercial decision to use biometrics to streamline the passenger journey through the airport, however this use of biometrics does not change the security checks that are required to be in place. There are currently no regulations or standards for using facial recognition technology, however airports and other bodies do need to adhere to data protection regulations. The Department regularly discusses and reviews airport security with all regulated UK airports.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Christianity: Religious Freedom

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether a departmental, or cross-governmental strategy, was devised to prevent or ameliorate the global persecution of Christians between 2003 and 2018; and if so, whether they will place a copy of the relevant documents in the Library of the House.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: There has been no cross-government strategy on the global persecution of Christians between 2003 and 2018, however the promotion of human rights has and remains at the heart of our foreign policy and we regard freedom of religion or belief as a universal human right. In my role as the Prime Minister's Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief, I regularly raise the importance of this issue with international counterparts. We condemn instances where individuals are persecuted because of their faith or belief, including Christians, wherever it happens and whatever the religion or belief.

Pakistan: Religious Freedom

the lord bishop of coventry: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support the government of Pakistan to continue to uphold the right to freedom of religion or belief in that country.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: ​The UK has a long history of supporting Freedom of Religion or Belief for all people. We stand up for everyone's right to practise or not practise a religion that is in line with their conscience, wherever they are in the world.We regularly raise our concerns about Freedom of Religion or Belief with the Government of Pakistan at a senior level. I raised the treatment of religious minority communities with Pakistan's Federal Minister for Human Rights, Dr Shireen Mazari, during my visit to Islamabad in February, and in subsequent telephone calls.Under the Government's Magna Carta Fund for Human Rights and Democracy, the UK has supported projects in Pakistan to promote greater tolerance and religious freedom. In November 2018, the Government announced a new £12 million fund to bolster the work of civil society and Non-Governmental Organisations to promote respect, and the value of religious diversity and tolerance.On 30 January 2019, the Foreign Secretary and the Rt Revd Philip Mounstephen, Bishop of Truro, launched an Independent Review of Foreign and Commonwealth Office support for persecuted Christians overseas. The Bishop submitted his interim report on 3 May; he will submit his final report in the summer.

European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

lord hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether reports of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment may, in some circumstances, be published without the prior consent of the state in question.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: ​The UK encourages Council of Europe members to engage fully with the recommendations of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT). The UK Permanent Representative to the Council of Europe has intervened in the Committee of Ministers in the past, calling on Member States to agree to the publication of all CPT reports concerning that State. The UK Government promotes a general policy of transparency by authorising the publication of the visit reports and the UK responses thereon, encouraging other Member States to do likewise. We shall continue to take this approach.

European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

lord hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they intend to make to the Council of Europe about finding ways to ensure that all members implement the recommendations of theEuropean Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: ​The UK unreservedly condemns the use of torture and works closely with international partners to eradicate this abhorrent practice, including making robust statements in multilateral organisations and by Ministers. The UK encourages Council of Europe members to engage fully with the recommendations of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Where necessary, the UK Permanent Representative to the Council of Europe will intervene in the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers meetings to call on member states to engage with the recommendations of the Committee's reports.

Brunei: LGBT People

lord lexden: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Brunei about abrogating the laws under which homosexuals can be stoned to death.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The Foreign Secretary spoke to Brunei’s Foreign Minister, Dato Erywan, on 4 April to express the UK’s concerns about the impact of the Sharia Penal Code. On 11 April, the Foreign Secretary and the Minister for Asia and the Pacific met Dato Erywan and the Finance Minister, Dato Amin Liew, in London. The Prime Minister wrote to His Majesty The Sultan on 1 May. We welcome the assurances thereafter provided by the Sultan on 5 May. In particular, confirmation that the de facto moratorium on the death penalty will apply to punishments under the Sharia Penal Code and the commitment to ratify the United Nations Convention Against Torture. Following this announcement, the Minister for Asia and the Pacific met Dato Erywan and Dato Amin Liew on 7 May. I also welcomed these assurances during my meeting with the Minister of Transport and Infocommunications, Dato Mutalib on 16 May.The announcement by His Majesty the Sultan demonstrates the importance of engaging in respectful dialogue and diplomacy to address sensitive issues. The assurances provided by the Sultan are positive and go some way to addressing our anxieties about the human rights situation in Brunei. We urge Brunei to build on these assurances and formalise its commitment to respect individual freedoms and minorities.

Department for Education

Special Educational Needs: Finance

lord porter of spalding: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they intend to take, if any, in the nextSpending Review to ensure that councils can continue to meet their statutory duties towards those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.

lord agnew of oulton: We recognise that high needs budgets are under pressure and that is why we allocated an additional £250 million in high needs funding for 2018-19 and 2019-20 in December. This brings the total allocation for high needs this year to £6.3 billion.My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has announced that the government will hold a Spending Review alongside the Budget where spending plans beyond 2019-20 will be agreed. The government will need to balance competing priorities across a broad range of areas, but we will be taking careful account of the importance of providing the right funding for education, and for high needs in particular. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has made clear that as we approach the next Spending Review, he will back head teachers to ensure they have the resources they need to deliver a world class education.

Students: Ethnic Groups

lord boateng: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the role of the Office for Students Evidence and Impact Exchange in promoting best practice in universities to address the attainment gap between BAME and other students.

viscount younger of leckie: The government has asked the Office for Students to set up an Evidence and Impact Exchange to help transform our understanding of what works in driving access and successful participation among disadvantaged and underrepresented students. The new centre, known as the Centre for Transforming Access and Student Outcomes (TASO) in higher education (HE), is an affiliate what works centre, and part of the UK government’s what works movement. TASO will commission, share and support the take-up of evidence on ‘what works’ to improve access and participation in HE in different settings and for different groups of students, including Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic students. It will act as a central hub for a wide variety of evidence, helping to ensure that HE spend to widen access and participation by under-represented and disadvantaged students has as big an impact as possible. TASO has already made its first call for evidence, inviting providers to submit examples of impact evaluation across the student life-cycle.

Students: Ethnic Groups

lord boateng: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the role of the Race Disparity Audit in addressing inequalities in higher education.

viscount younger of leckie: At the launch of the Race Disparity Audit in October 2017, the government committed to “explain or change” the ethnic disparities on the audit’s Ethnicity facts and figures website.Since October 2017 the government has taken action, including on tackling disparities in access to and participation in higher education (HE) for ethnic minority students.The audit’s ethnicity facts and figures website has been continually updated and extended to allow the public to see if ethnic disparities are improving or not, across over 160 important areas of public life. This has included the publication of data on undergraduate degree results and entrants at different HE providers with high, medium and low entry tariffs.On February 1, the government announced action to tackle disparities in access to, and successful participation in, HE for ethnic minority students; and disparities in recruitment and progression for ethnic minority academics. This included plans to work with league table compilers on how they might consider performance on tackling inequalities between ethnic groups in university rankings, promoting the new transparency condition, and encouraging HE providers to make use of tools such as the Race at Work charter and the Race Equality Charter in their efforts to address inequality.

Students: Ethnic Groups

lord boateng: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications for university funding of the disparity of outcomes for BAME students in higher education.

viscount younger of leckie: Improving access and outcomes in higher education (HE) for students from disadvantaged or under-represented groups is a priority for the government. Through the Higher Education and Research Act 2017, the government has introduced sweeping reforms to tackle equality of opportunity.All HE providers in England that register with the Office for Students (OfS) who want to charge more than the basic annual amount for tuition (£6000+) (known as approved fee cap providers), must have an access and participation plan approved by the OfS. Through these plans providers set out what activities they intend to take to ensure students from disadvantaged backgrounds or under-represented groups — such as Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) students — can access, participate in, succeed in and progress from higher education. Guidance provided to the OfS, by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, identified ensuring BAME students can not only access, but succeed in higher education as a priority.This year HE providers will, for the first time, be required to publish applications, offer, acceptance, dropout and attainment rates of students by ethnicity, gender and socio-economic background.

Ministry of Justice

Furniture: Fire Resistant Materials

the countess of mar: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many prosecutions were made by Trading Standards for offences under the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire Safety) Regulations 1988 between 2014 and 2019; and how many of these prosecutions resulted in a conviction.

lord keen of elie: The Ministry of Justice has published data for prosecutions and convictions up to the end of December 2018. Data for 2019 will be published in May 2020. The number of prosecutions and convictions for offences under the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire Safety) Regulations 1988 between 2014 and 2018 are shown in the table below. Table: Prosecutions and convictions under the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire Safety) Regulations 1988, 2014–18 20142015201620172018Prosecuted492112 Convicted36271

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Local Government: Constituencies

lord greaves: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether, following an election that has changed the political composition of a local authority, that authority is able to withdraw a submission made to the Local Government Boundary Commission for England on a local boundaries review in their area and replace it with an alternative submission.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: This is a matter for the independent Local Government Boundary Commission for England, which is accountable to the Speaker’s Committee of the House of Commons.

Social Science: Research

lord mawson: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of Government-funded social science research on deprived communities.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: Since 2017, the department has commissioned around 20 studies to investigate and understand the needs of deprived communities and communities who face specific integration challenges. Key examples include the update to the Indices of Multiple Deprivation (IMD), The Integrated Communities Innovation Fund evaluation, a number of studies on reducing homelessness, and the ongoing troubled families evaluation. The results of these projects have provided invaluable insight into the issues and the findings are incorporated into policy development.For example, the Randomised Control Trial research on community based English Language programmes has informed the development of the current English Language programme of support, providing people who don’t speak English with the skills and confidence to improve their integration outcomes.Our Integrated Areas evaluation will test the impact of different interventions designed to improve real life social outcomes, including social mixing outcomes across different communities residing in the same place.The previous 2015 version of the Indices of Multiple Deprivation fed directly into MHCLG and more widely into other Departments’ policy development, particularly where policies have been focused on working with the most deprived communities across the country.More generally, much of our commissioned research aims to understand and address the needs of communities that most need our support and promote growth. Key examples include the English Housing Survey and European Regional Development Fund.

Community Infrastructure Levy

lord marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Bourne of Aberystwyth on 14 May (HL15404), how many new homes were constructed, whether as new-builds or by conversion of existing non-domestic buildings, in 2017–18 in each of the local authorities using a Community Industrial Levy.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: Annual housing supply in England amounted to 222,190 net additional dwellings in 2017-18, up 2 per cent on 2016-17 and the highest level since 2007-08. Net additional dwellings includes new build, change of use (non-domestic to residential), conversions (houses to flats), other gains and losses, offset by demolitions. Attached Table 1 shows that the 148 Local Authority Districts in England, using a Community Infrastructure Levy in 2017-18, accounted for 112,820 net additional dwellings, of which 98,662 were new builds and 15,758 were change of use.



Table1
(Excel SpreadSheet, 230.5 KB)

Home Office

Thames House: Pedestrian Areas

lord blencathra: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byBaroness Williams of Trafford on 11 April (HL14894), whether the Security Service sought permission from Westminster City Council or Transport for London before they closed the pedestrian footpath on Horseferry Road.

baroness williams of trafford: The Security Service has taken all appropriate and reasonable steps to ensure the safety of pedestrians on Horseferry Road.

Asylum: Children

lord hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement byBaroness Williams of Trafford on 8 May (HLWS1504), whether they expect local authorities will offer extra placements to Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UASC); and whether offers from individual British families to adopt or to foster UASC will be taken up.

baroness williams of trafford: The Home Office recognises the highly valuable work that local authorities undertake in supporting unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC) and that is why we significantly increased the funding paid as a contribution to their costs. It is hoped that this will enable more local authorities to feel able to offer placements for vulnerable UASC, and we will be working with them and partners to encourage this.It is unlikely that adoption will be an appropriate option for unaccompanied children. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees, as well as other humanitarian charities, advise that no new adoption applications should be considered in the period after a disaster or fleeing from war. It is not uncommon for children in these circumstances to be temporarily separated from their parents or other family members who may be looking for them. Efforts to reunite children with relatives or extended family should therefore be given priority.Foster parents are recruited by fostering services which include local authorities or independent fostering agencies. The decision to let someone foster a child, including UASC, is a very important one to get right. Anyone who wants to become a foster parent must undergo a full assessment and be approved by a fostering service before any child can be placed in their care. Regulations set out in detail the requirements of the approval process, including the information that must be collected in the assessment and the requirement for a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. In 2013 Department for Education streamlined and strengthened the assessment and approval process for foster carers, introducing a two-stage process to ensure efficiency and transparency.Existing foster parents may also be able to provide suitable homes for unaccompanied children and over the past two years the Department for Education has funded over 2000 training places for existing foster parents and support workers who wish to care for UASC, with places being prioritised for local authorities participating in the National Transfer Scheme.

British Nationals Abroad: Syria

baroness corston: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many UK nationals have returned from Syria in the last three years for which figures are available.

baroness williams of trafford: Since the beginning of the conflict around 900 people of national security concern have travelled from the UK to Syria and Iraq, against the advice of the Foreign Office. Of these, around 40% have returned to the UK.

Treasury

Company Cars: Taxation

lord berkeley: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they plan to announce the benefits in kind rate for company cars for the years after 2021; and what assessment they have made of the impact on car owners of the rates not yet being publicly available.

lord young of cookham: The government aims to publish emissions-based company car tax rates in advance to help employees and industry plan. However, as emissions testing changes in 2020, the government is reviewing the impact of the new Worldwide Light vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) on vehicle taxes. The government will respond shortly to the review.

London Capital and Finance

lord myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the proposed independent review of the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) supervision of London Capital and Finance will be supported by (1) an independent secretariat, or (2) secondees from the (a) FCA, (b) Prudential Regulation Authority, (c) HM Treasury, or (d) Bank of England.

lord young of cookham: On 23rd May, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury laid before Parliament a Direction requiring the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to carry out an independent investigation into the events and circumstances surrounding the failure of London Capital and Finance. The operational resourcing of this investigation will be a matter for the FCA and Dame Elizabeth Gloster, the independent investigator it appointed.

Import Duties

lord lilley: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much revenue is raised from tariffs on products not grown or produced in the UK.

lord young of cookham: The total amount received in Customs Duties in 2017-18 was £3.4 billion.

UK Trade with EU

lord lilley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the costs to businesses of (1) completing movement certificates, and (2) having those certificates stamped at borders, if the UK is in a customs union with the EU after Brexit.

lord young of cookham: The Government is seeking a new customs arrangement that provides the most frictionless trade possible in goods between the UK and the EU. The cost to businesses of any information requirements would depend on the precise nature of the arrangement.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Telephones: Fees and Charges

lord taylor of warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government whetherthe cap on the cost of phone calls between EU member states will apply to UK consumers until the end of any transition period, in the event that a Brexit deal is agreed.

lord ashton of hyde: Under the draft Withdrawal Agreement, EU law will continue to apply in the UK during the Implementation Period (subject to certain exceptions), including EU law that comes into force during the Implementation Period. That will include the Regulation that caps the cost of phone calls via landline and mobile phone or SMS made from one EU country to another.